Covered container and sealing closure therefor



C. S. BARON March 7, 1933.

COVERED CONTAINER AND SEALING CLOSURE THEREFOR Filed Aug. 14, 1928 Fig. m

attomwq 1 Patented Mar. 7, 1933 UNITED'STATES.

;PArENT: OFFICE cnAn Ess.3 i o1v,or1,rIrrm, onio I 5 oovnsnn CONTAINER AND surname oiiosunn *rnnnnronj Application filed- August 14, 1928. Serial No. 299,498.

invention herein'illustrated is a tilted glass display jar fitted with a special cover and its appurtenances for securing it to the jar,

but, as indicated in the foregoing general statement, my invention is not restricted even to a display jar,and may be varied somewhat widely inrespect to the cover and the "details of mechanism for operative blage :of the cover and jar.

In another aspect, my invention comprehends broadlya novel sealing closure for a container and its cover, when closed, in or- :der to form between them a substantially air tightjoint.' a

What constitutes my present invention, in its variousaspects, will behereinaf-ter describedin detail and succinctly, defined in the appended claims. 1 1 T In the accompanying drawing,

" Figure I is a diametrical vertical section of a container,it s cover closed thereon, and mechanism for operatively uniting the; cover and container. I v v Figure II isa top plan View of the forward portion of the subject matter ofFigureI.

Figure 1111 is a rear elevation of the subject matter of Figure I,sh owing the hinge for uniting the cover and container.

Figure IV is adetail vlewon an enlarged scale to show the "hinge connection between the cover bail and latch-f, p

' Figure V is a detached side elevation of a portion of a modified form of mouth-defining rim, said modification consisting of I a suc- 40 cession of transversely dispsed I minute grooves in the outer face oftherim.

Referring to 'the numerals on the drawing, l'indicates, byway of eXample,"the.upper part of a body of a'tilteddi'splay jar or containerwhich is preferably made of glass. In

the form I illustrated, the'container is provi ded with awide mouth, and 'i-nanyform of container the mouth is preferably defined by an annular rim 2 made integral withthe body 1. The rim is shown, in respect .to the The specific form of embodiment ofmy assem- .If, for example,

specific form of container illustrated, as superposed upon a neck 3 of shorter diameter than the rim 2, as one element of the means foruniting the container to its cover 4.

It should be understood, however, that the relationship, hereinafter specified between the rim 2 andthe cover a has patentable quality existing without restriction to any specific form of container, and, therefore, the rim should beregarded in that part of the specification which immediately follows as only a mouth-defining member for any desired form of container; 7S0 vregarded, the rim 2 is distinguished by having a periphericallateral zone 6 that is very slightly flared downwardly.

Over the rim, 2 fits looselyan annular depending flange 7vthat is provided about the periphery of the cover 4, which may be made of any suitable material, preferably sheet metal that maybe stamped, pressed or otherwiseshaped into any desired form. vAn annular gasket-seat 8 is, by any suitable method, formed in the'top, of the cover, so that extending, preferably,- above the top of the cover and the inner face of the outer wall of the seat 8 itconstitutes, in effect, an extension of the inner face of the fiange7. The jrela- I tionship of the faces of the elementsv just re-' ,ferred to-is=specified witha degree of exacti- 9 tuole because such exactitude is deemed necessary in "orderto conveyatrue understanding of the: parts {under consideration and l the functions they, are required to perform.

. VVithinthe seat 8 I providea cylindrical gasket or wide ring 9 made of yielding tic material, preferably soft rubber. The thickness of the gasket 9 is accurately gauged elasto fit snuglyinto the seat 8 and againstthe inner face of the flange 7. Want of. observance'of this rule of construction may defeat the very purposefor which the use of the gasket is intended. v a I the fit of the gasket within the seat'8 is too loose, the gasket would be laible to fall out of its seat, and so cause trouble. ,;If,-on the other hand, the-seat 8 should receive the gasket with too tight a fit, the result wouldbe likely to distort the shape of the gasket so as to prevent the proper functioning of the gasket for the purposes of effecting a closure.

The width of the gasket as distinguished from its thickness, is preferably as shown in Figure I, approximately equal to that of the flange 7 plus the depth of the seat 8 which, in use, constitute its supporting members or backing. Consequently, so much of the inside face of the gasket as is exposed when the gasket is in place in and supported by its backing, within the seat 80f the cover, will be substantially equal to the width of the face of the zone 6 on the rim 2 that is opposite thereto.

The said face of the zone 6 is preferably smooth as shown in Figure I or it may be milled, as illustrated in Figure V.

The top of the rim 2, as shown in either figure last named, is of much the same shape, being in each instance a rounded peripheral bead on the rims. The bead shown in Fig ure V is shaped-to facilitate the initial insertion into gasket 9 without distorting it, and after such insertion the smooth exterior of the zone 6 lends itself to the forcingof it entirely into snug engagement with the gas ket. t should be observed in this connection that the angle of the downwardly flaring taper of the zone 6 is a little sharper in Fig ure V than in Figure I, the main reason being that the presence of the milling grooves 10 appears to operate advantageously to effect closure between the members 7 and 10. It is found difficult to illustrate the existing differences between the forms shown in said figures, respectively, and this description is, therefore, relied upon to a somewhatunusual extent in order to assist the reader to an intelligent comprehension of the reason for those differences which are important and for the relative functions that result therefrom. I

The milled face of the Zone 6 shown in Figure V is constituted of a multitude of regularly spaced minute vertically disposed grooves 10 whose purpose is to preventthat curling or rolling action of the'gasket 9 out of its seat 8 which would be likely to occur if the outside of the rim 2, namely the zone fl were, without other special provision as above described, made smooth. That is to say, the effect of the milling of the face of zone 6 upon the gasket as shown in Figure V is to hold the gasket safely in shape while the zone is being forced with wedging action into the circumference of the flange-supported gasket and into cont-act with its inner eX- posed face. The slight changes noted in respect to the subject matter of Figure I accomplish the same end without the employment of the grooves 10. 1

Within the broader purview of my invention as it is in instant contemplation, any suitable means, of which one for example is herein illustrated and described, for forcing the cover 4 and the rim 2 together will suffice to effect closure between them by compressing, through wedging action last aforesaid, the gasket 9 between the outside flange 7 of the cover 4 and the zone 6 of the rim 2.

Coming now to consideration of the specific form of the container illustrated and of the specific means shown for operatively uniting the cover thereto, 11 indicates a yielding, preferably elastic metallic collar that is provided with means for detachably fastening it about the neck 3, aforesaid, that is to say, within the space defined between the container body 1 and the opposite base of the rim 2. Such a collar is incidental only to my present invention.

The oflice of the collar 11 is to afford means'for fastening to the container body lat one point of the circumference of the rim 2 a hinge-piece 12. The relative disposition 'ofthe hinge-piece 12 to the rim 2 should be such as to bring the rim, at the point where :the said hinge-piece is located, as shown in Figures I and III, into operative juxtaposition to the gasket 9. To this end, the hinge piece 12 may be made to include a supporting plate 13 and a lip 14 disposed thereto substantially at right angles. The plate 13 ispreferably provided with two cylindrical knuckles 15 and 16 that are spaced apart from each other and which are formed by the bending downwardly from the plane of the plate 13 of the sheet metal thereof, which is ultimately shaped to form the said knuckles. Before being bent intotheir final cylindrical shape, the knuckles constitute, in effect,

two tongues of flat metal, which are assembled with the cover by aid of a bead 17 formed on the skirt of the flange 7 of the cover. At'the point at which the hingepiece 12 is tobeatta'ched to the cover, a section l8 of'the bead 17 is deflected, as shown in Figure III, from the line of therest of the bead, and in the metal of the flange 7 above said bead-section 18 two slits 19 and 20 are made to receive, respectively, thetongues aforesaid of which the knuckles 15 and 16 are tobe formed. After said tongues are thus inserted into the respective slits 19- and 20, the metal constituting the tongues is bent around the bead-section 18 so as to shape them into knuckles. By this method a secure hinge connection betweenthe cover 4 and the hinge-piece l2'isformed. The details of construction'specified in this paragraph are deemed to be of suflicient importance to justify such Ininuteness of description, and

are dwelt upon because, by reason of the shape of the hinge-piece and the disposition of the knuckles thereof below the plate 13 thereof, the lower, edge of the skirt of the flange7 defined by the bead 17, including the section 18'thereof, is fixed in a position to bring the zone 6'.and the gasket 9 into the proper relative closing position required for their necessary cooperation.

Diametrically opposite the hinge-piece 12, a thumb-latch 21 of new and useful construction is provided on the cover 4. The said latch is of what may be called the eccentric type. 7

plate 28 which is secured, as by rivets 29, to

the face of an annular depression 30 formed in the the top of the cover 4, said depression,

being preferably defined on the outer side by the upraising of the metal occasioned by the forming, as already specified,-of the seat 8. Bends 31 and 32 in the bail 23 adjacent to the knuckle bends 26 and 27, respectively, afford a downward deflection to the medial portion of the bail, as shown in Figures I and II, for better accommodating the bail= to the performance of its function as a support to the thumb-latch 21.

The said latch may be localized upon the bail 23 by employing a bearing 33 slightly flattened either on one side or on both sides, if desired, for the pivotal support of the latch upon the bail. The effect of the proto keep the thumb-latch, for convenience of operation, in the vertical position when it is unlatched, and to prevent the latch from catching on the rim 2 when the cover 4 is being opened or closed.

The flattening of the bail 23 on one side only, as shown at 33, seems to allow the latchhinge to work a little more smoothly in use, and lends strength to the pivotal connection by the slight addition of stock to the bail'between the latch and the bail, in consequence of compression of the bail to form the'bearing 33. 7

There are features of the construction of the latch 21 that are deemed important enough to entitle them to special mention, as follows.

The body of the latch is made of a piece 35 of stiff, heavy steel, which is bent as indicated at 36 to effect convenient presentation to the thumb of an operator of the actuating lever 37 of the latch. The steel piece 35 is covered by a plate 38 made, for example, of spring brass which is riveted to and bent about the exposed edges of the piece 35 to give it attractive finish. It is also bent over i the engaging end of the piece 35 so as to present a smooth rounded bearing face 40 for smooth engagement with the base of the glass face 40 is desirable in order to prevent scratching or marringof the collar 11 which a sharp or rough end might cause where it comes in contact with the collar. Also the rounded face 40serves toinsure the proper closing of the latch 20 against the bottom of the rim 2. v

Another feature of the latch construction consists inthe shaping and disposition of the hinge-beads 41 and 42 of the latch plate 38 as illustrated in Figures I and IV so as to allow the bearing parts of the bail 23 to pull directly on the surface of the bridge 45 which unites the beads 41 and 42. It may be also observed that shoulders 46 (Figure II) which define the ends of the bearing 33 serve to, properly allocate the latch 21 upon said bearing;

What .1 claim is: 1. The combination with. a container .and

its mouth-defining rim, of a peripherally flanged cover hinged at one side to the container and provided on its opposite side with a thumb-latch of the eccentric type provided with a bearing face adapted to engage with latching effect the bottom of the said rim, said thumb-latch comprising a resilient bail pivotally fastened to and downwardly deflected from the top of the cover and comprising a stiff body portion, a bend therein be-' tween the actuating lever and thumb-piece of the thumb-latch and means adjacent to said bend for pivotally connecting the thumblatch and hail; vision of such flattened bearing is to tend its mouth-defining rim, vof a-peripherally 2; The combination with a container and flanged cover hinged at one side to the container and provided on its opposite side with a thumb-latch of the eccentric type provided with a bearing face adapted to engage withlatching effectthe bottom of the said rim, said thumb-latch comprising a resilient bail pivotally fastened to and downwardly defiected from the top of the cover and comprising a stiff body portion, a bend therein beits mouth-defining rim, of a peripherally flanged cover hinged at one side to the container and provided on its oppositeside with a thumb-latch of the eccentric type provided with a bearing face adapted to engage with latching effect the bottom of the said rim, said thumb-latch comprising a resilient bail .pivotally fastened to and downwardly deflected from the top of the cover and having a stiff body portion, a bend therein between I the actuating lever and thumb-piece of the thumb-latch and means adjacent to said bend for pivotally connecting the thumb-latch andj hail, the pivotal connection last named comprising a bridge disposed so as to bring the pull of the bail when the latch is closed directly on the bridge.

" 4. Thecombination with a container and its mouth-defining rim, of a peripherally flanged cover hinged at one side to the container and provided on its opposite side with V a thumb-latch of the eccentric type provided with a bearing face adapted to engage with latching effect the bottom of the said rim, said thumb-latch comprising av resilient bail pivotally fastened to and downwardly deflected from the top of the cover and comprising a stiff body portion, a bend therein between the actuating lever and thumb-piece of thethumb-latch and means adjacent to said bend for pivotally connecting the thumblatch and bail, the pivotal connection last named comprising a bridge disposed so as to bring the pull of the bail when the latch is closed directly on the bridge, the bail being provided with a flattened bearing in cooperation with said connection.

5. The combination with a container and its mouth-defining rim, of a peripherally flanged cover hinged at one side to the container and provided on its opposite side with a thumb-latch of the eccentric type provided with a bearing face adapted to engage with latching effect the bottom of the said rim, said thumb-latch comprising a resilient bail pivotally fastened to and downwardly de- 7 fiected from the top of the cover and comprising a stiff body portion, a bend therein between the actuating lever and thumb-piece of the thumb-latch, means adjacent to said bend for pivotally connecting the thumb-latch and H bail, and means for allocating the thumb:

40 latch on the bail. r y

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. CHARLES S. BARON. 

